Tails and Sonic 2 Turn 17

I’m really going to have to quit acknowledging the anniversary of every little video game-related thing that comes up.

But before I do that, one more for the road, I guess. SEGA’s Sonic City Blognik pointed out today that Tails, and thus Sonic the Hedgehog 2, turned 17 this week and celebrated with a day out on the town. You can click over to see pics of Tails out and about.

Thinking back, Sonic 2 was and often still is considered the best in the series, though Sonic 3 & Knuckles is collectively nothing to sneeze at. One reason I think I liked it so much was because of the introduction of Tails.

I know a lot of people say Sonic games should star only Sonic, though some will concede Tails and Knuckles are okay, but having Tails there made Sonic 2 a more inclusive experience for me growing up. My friend was the SEGA guy, while I stood firm with Nintendo, but we would still play each other’s consoles and games. Blasphemy, I know.

Despite our treasonous acts, there were some unwritten rules we usually kept to most of the time. When playing Mario, I was typically Mario himself, while he would take up the green hat of Luigi. Likewise, when playing Sonic, he would be the blue blur, and I would be… sitting by the sidelines, at least until Tails came along.

While the Tails co-op definitely added to the game, I’ll admit that the 2-player mode did tend to pale next to the fuller 2-player game that Super Mario World and Super Mario All-Stars would provide. And I won’t even drag New Super Mario Bros. Wii into this, as doing a Sonic game like that sounds like a recipe for disaster, no matter how many dimensions it’s in.

Even so, I came to like Tails as much or more than Sonic, since he let me get more involved. Plus, in Sonic 3, he could fly! Sure, he could fly in Sonic 2, but that was only when Sonic left him behind.

Of course, much as Luigi tends to stand in his older brother’s shadow, Tails’ glory was often short-lived, as he couldn’t access the later levels of the games in which he took part.

Unfortunately, Tails’ role has changed over time, and while he still helps out Sonic, it’s just not quite the same; he’s taken on a part that is greater than being Player 2 (who, unlike Luigi, you could choose to play freely in single-player mode), and yet at the same time, somehow less.

And I’ll be honest, while I still did and still do like Tails, Knuckles really captured my attention once he became a playable character. I do so very much love his gliding and climbing, even in the 3-D games.

Still, I can’t help but hope that maybe Tails might take up the second-player slot once again in Project Needlemouse. On the other hand, maybe it’s better to just hope that SEGA manages to deliver what we want first.